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Long term exposure to air pollution could damage the brain and lead to learning and memory problems and even depression, new research has revealed.

The tests on mice showed that in the long term dirty air could cause actual physical changes to the brain which in turn had negative effects.

While other studies have looked at the impact polluted air has on the heart and lungs this is one of the first to look at the effect on the brain, lead author Laura Fonken noted.

She said: “The results suggest prolonged exposure to polluted air can have visible, negative effects on the brain, which can lead to a variety of health problems.

“This could have important and troubling implications for people who live and work in polluted urban areas around the world.”

Ms Fonken, a doctoral student, and her colleagues at Ohio State University exposed mice to either filtered air of polluted air six hours a day, five days a week for almost half their lifespan which was 10 months.

The polluted air was the same as that created by cars, factories and natural dust and contained fine particulates about a thirtieth the size of a human hair, 2.5 micrometers, which can reach deep areas of the body’s organs.

The concentration of particulates mimicked what humans are exposed to in some polluted urban areas, researchers claimed.

Pollution

In previous studies in mice it was found that fine air particulate matter caused widespread inflammation in the body and that it could be linked to high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, and the researchers wished to expand on these findings by looking at the brain.

Professor Randy Nelson, a co-author, said: “The more we learn about the health effects of prolonged exposure to air pollution, the more reasons there are to be concerned.

After 10 months of exposure behavioural tests were carried out on the rodents including a learning and memory test where after five days of training they were placed on a brightly lit area and given two minutes to find the dark escape hole where they would be more comfortable.

The mice who breathed the polluted air took longer to learn where the escape hole was and at later tests they were more likely to forget where it was.

In another experiment, mice exposed to the polluted air showed more depressive-like and higher levels of anxiety-like behaviours in one test, but not in another.

To find out how the pollution led to changes in learning, memory and mood the researchers tested the hippocampal area of the mice brains and found clear physical differences.

Ms Fonken said: “We wanted to look carefully at the hippocampus because it is associated with learning, memory and depression.”

They looked at the dendrites, which are the branches that grow off of nerve cells or neurons, which have small projections growing off them called spines, which transmit signals from one neuron to another.

Mice exposed to polluted air had fewer spines in parts of the hippocampus, shorter dendrites and overall reduced cell complexity.

They also discovered some inflammation in the hippocampus and more active chemical messengers that cause inflammation in the mice who breathed the polluted air.

Professor Nelson said: “Previous research has shown that these types of changes are linked to decreased learning and memory abilities.”

A morning caffeine fix might do more than perk you up – it could save your life.

Women who drink more than a cup of coffee a day can lower their risk of having a stroke by 25 per cent, research shows.

Those with little or no coffee intake, however, are more likely to suffer from the condition.

The findings are the latest to challenge a common belief that coffee is bad for people’s health.

Scientists stress they have yet to prove it reduces stroke risk, but their work could have major public health implications.

Researcher Dr Susanna Larsson, of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said coffee was one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world.

Coffee

‘Therefore, even small health effects of substances in coffee may have large public health consequences,’ she said.

Although it is too soon to recommend coffee as a health drink, the findings should ease the minds of women concerned about drinking too much, added Dr Larsson.

‘Some women have avoided consuming coffee because they have thought it is unhealthy,’ she said.

‘In fact, increasing evidence indicates that moderate coffee consumption may decrease the risk of some diseases such as diabetes, liver cancer and possibly stroke.’

Her team’s study followed the diet and health of nearly 35,000 women aged 49 to 83 over a decade.

It showed that those who reported drinking at least one cup a day had a 22 per cent to 25 per cent lower risk of stroke than those who drank less.

This could be because coffee reduces inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity, the team suggested.

It also contains anti-oxidants which is known to prevent disease.
Factors such as whether the volunteers smoked, how much alcohol they consumed and weight were taken into account. Although they did not specify if they drank caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, the latter is not common in Sweden.

A previous study showed that male smokers who drink coffee are less likely to suffer from strokes.

Other research on the links between coffee and health have produced contradictory results.

Some suggest high doses of caffeine can increase blood pressure.
However, others show that coffee reduces the risk of cancers of the pancreas, colon, brain, mouth and throat.

Last year, researchers found that high doses of caffeine boost an athlete’s ability to run marathons or cycle long distances.